Today's Edition
(BLOOMBERG)
US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed optimism for close cooperation on national security and shipbuilding, though the US leader downplayed the chances for further concessions on Seoul’s tariff deal.
Trump welcomed Lee to the White House on Monday, with the South Korean leader praising the gold finishes Trump added to the Oval Office and his peacekeeping efforts.
Trump indicated that the agreement for a 15% tariff on South Korean imports would likely stick as is, despite Seoul’s efforts to secure better terms.
"I hear they want to renegotiate the deal, but that’s OK, I don’t mind that. That doesn’t mean they’re going to get anything, but I don’t mind,” the US president said.
Trump said he’d like to have another meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and that the two had "became very friendly” over the course of two summits in his first term in office.
Trump also congratulated Lee on his election and said "we’re with you 100%".
Both leaders nodded to a burgeoning shipbuilding agreement, with Trump pledging to purchase ships from South Korea and Lee acknowledging Trump’s desire to have Korean shipbuilding in the US employing American workers. Lee’s government is expected to unveil about $150 billion in US investment plans from private companies.
The summit in Washington comes a few weeks after the two sides reached a last-minute trade deal that capped tariffs on US imports of South Korean goods at 15%, allowing Seoul to avoid the 25% rate that Trump had threatened to impose. But US officials have since signalled dissatisfaction over the terms.
The meeting was also expected to feature thorny issues, including reaching an agreement on defence cooperation, which Seoul initially tried to make part of the tariff deal. US officials have also been eager to pin down South Korea on the specifics of the $350 billion it pledged to invest in the US as part of the deal.
